Key duplicating machine



Oct. 15, 1957 D. w. ORCHARD KEY DUPLICATING MACHINE ABY File'd June 1]., 1954 D. W. ORCHARD KEY DUPLICATING MACHINE Oct. 15, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June ll, 1954 Oct. 15, 1957 D. w. ORCHARD v 2,809,566

KEY DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed Jun'e 11, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ill s 25 Afro/PNEYS KEY DUPLCATING MACHlNE David W. Cir-Chard, Willoughby, Ohio, assigner to The National Key Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application Enne 11, 1954, Serial No. 435,96S

1 Claim. (Cl. 90-13.05)

This invention relates to key duplicating machines of the kind in which a desired proiile is cut on a key blank to correspond with the proiile of a key to be duplicated, and as `one of its objects, aims to provide an improved machine of this kind which is of -a simple, compact and economical construction and which is accurate in its performance and requires no unusual skill for its operation.

Another object is to provide an improved key duplicating machine having a workholder or carriage adapted to receive key members thereon comprising a key blank Vand a key to be duplicated, and in which the carriage is mounted for both swinging and translatory movements for engaging the key members with a rotary cutter and a cutting guide respectively.

Still another object is to provide a key duplicating machine of the character mentioned in which the engagement of the key members with the cutter and guide is accomplished with the key members in such relation thereto as to minimize the error, and the accumulation of error which has heretofore been prone to occur in duplicating operations performed by machines of this kind.

A further object is to provide a key duplicating machine of the character above mentioned in which the carriage has spaced arm portions extending forwardly of the cutter and guide and carrying clamping devices for the key members, and in which such arm portions straddle the guide support during at least a portion of the translatory movement of the carriage.

Yet another object is to provide such an improved key duplicating machine in which the carriage is biased, preferably by counterweight means, toward extreme positions of its permissible swinging movement in response to initial manual movement away from ya neutral or intermediate position.

As another of its objects, this invention provides a duplicating machine of the character above indicated in which the clamping devices of the carriage are constructed for ease ofoperation, and in which they engage and support the key members so as to avoid bending or twisting of those members.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such an improved key duplicating machine in which the driving motor is a shaded pole motor 4and in which the frame structure defines passage means for a forced ow of air for cooling the motor.

Additionally, this invention provides an improved duplicating machine of the kind indicated above in which the frame structure has an end opening into which a motor unit is insertable and in which the passage means for the cooling air includes an annular group of axial ports surrounding the motor and forming one end of the air passage.

The invention can be further briey summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the claims hereof.

2,809,566 Patented Oct. 15, 1957 e a la..

from the lFig. 4 is a partial plan view further illustrating theV carriage and the cooperation of the key members with the cutter and cutter guide; and

Fig. 5 is a partial plan View similar to Fig. 4 but with the upper jaws of the clamping devices broken away and with only a phantom showing of the key members.

The key duplicating machine 10 comprises in general a frame structure 11 having a `cutter 12 and a cutting guide 13 supported thereon, and a workholder comprising a carriage 14 carrying `clamping devices 15 and 16 which are adapted to receive and hold a key blank 17 and a key to be duplicated 18. The carriage 14 is mounted so as to have both swinging and translatory movements, as will be further explained hereinafter, for simultaneously engaging the key blank 17 and the key 18 with the cutter 12 and the cutting guide 13 respectively.

The frame structure 11 comprises a pair of connected lower and upper frame members 19 `and 20, of which the lower frame member forms the base of the machine and the upper frame member forms a support section on which an electric driving motor 21 is mounted. The base 19 is a generally rectangular hollow member having pairs of upright side and end walls and a partial top wall 19a. The base contains a chamber or space Venclosure 22 having a top opening 22a. The base 19 also has a laterally extending carrier portion 19b at one end thereof and on which a bearing bracket 23 is secured by the screws 23a. The end wall of the base remote from the carrier portion 19h is provided with a grill formation defining a row `of vertical air ports 24 communicating with' Y rounded top portion 20a which merges with an upright lower portion Ztlb of a generally quadrangular shape. The lower portion 20h is secured against the top of the base 19 by suitable screws 27. The upper frame member 20 also includes a transversely curved inner wall 28 which cooperates with the rounded top portion 20a in defining a substantially cylindrical hollow axial barrel portion 29 having an end opening 30 into which the driving motor 21 is adapted to be inserted.

When the frame members 19 and 20 are in their connected relation shown in the drawings, the end walls 31 and 32 of these members are in a substantially vertically aligned relation. The upper frame member 29 also includes an upwardly and forwardly curved wall 33 projecting laterally therefrom above the carrier portion 19b of the base. The lower edge of this laterally projecting wall 33 engages the top of the opstanding rear wall 34 of the carrier portion 19h and the top of the bearing bracket 23 and is secured to the latter parts by screws 35.

The upper frame member 20 has a pair of integrally formed projections 36 and 37 thereon which extend laterally from the end wall 32. The projection 36 is a mount for the rotary cutter 12 and the projection 37 is a mount for the cutting guide 13. The projection 36 has the upper edge of the curved wall 33 integrally joined thereto.

cutter shaft 40. f

Y rection'of-the axis of the cutter shaft.

The projection 3:6A is aV substantially cylindrical hollow projection having suitable axially spaced bearings 38 and 39 therein rotatably supporting a drive shaft or arbor 40 @carrying the Ycutter 12. The inner vend of the shaft 40 extends into the chamber 26 of the upper frame member 20 VYandhas a ring gear 41securedrthereto asL by means of theV screw 42. A drive Vpinion 43 suitably mounted on the `shaft 44 of .the electric motor 21 meshes with the ring gear 41 so' as to provide a geared drive for the :cutter 12.V ,Y Y

' The cutter 12j is a cutting wheel of a conventional shape and construction having a beveled annular face45 defin- VYingA a peripheral cutting edge V46 adjacent the flat outer side face 47. The cutter is suitably secured on the outerr Y 50 and'projectsrforwardly from the support 37 in substantially right-angle'relation thereto.

VThe guide 13 is endwise'shiftable in the slot 50 by means of anradjustingV Vscrew 51 having its stem threadedly engaged in anV opening 51aV of the projection 37 and also having aV circular thrust collar 52 engaged in a transverse slot 53of the guide. By rotating the screw 51 in the threaded opening-51a of the projection 37, the collar 52 will impart a longitudinal adjusting movement to the guide13. When the guide 13 has'been thus adjusted Y by the screw 51, it is adapted to be clamped to the projecj tion 37 by `thecollar 54 of a clamping screw 55. This adjustment for therguide 13 moves the reference edge` 56 relative to the cutter axis so asto vary the Vdistance of this reference edge from the cutter axis substantially in a direction radially of the cutter.

The cutting guide 13 can be in the form of a sectionV of suitable vlength Vcut from bar stock of appropriate cross-sectional'shape, preferably square as shown in theV Y clined downwardly and rearwardly at an angle of approximately degrees such that this edge lies in an inclined plane which isi/parallel to a plane which is Ytangent toV the peripheral edge 46 of the cutter. This tangent plane is represented by the line 56a. Y Y Y 'Ihe Vcarriage 14 is in the form of a substantially Y- shaped bracket havinga pair of spaced arms 58 and 59 which Vextend Vforwardly and upwardly adjacent the cutter 12 and .guide V13 respectively. The clampingV device 15 for the key blank 17 is carried by the arm-58, and the clamping'device 16 forthe key 18 is carried by the arm 59. The lowerend of the V:carriage 14 is secured to a slide 4shaft 60 which extends in parallel relation to the The carriage -14 has an opening 60a in its lower end through-which'the shaft 60 extends and in which this shaft is secured byrneans of the set screw 61. The shaft 60 forms a pivotV shaft for the transverse swinging'movement ofthe carriage 14 and also forms aV slidable support for theftranslatoryy movement of the carriage in the di- For this purpose, the shaft 60 Vis Vrockably and slidably mounted in a pair of axially spaced bearings62 Vand 63.` VThe bearing 62 axial translatory movement of'the carriageand also Yprovides sufficient clearance to accommodate the cutting Y guidef13 and the guide support 37 during the transverse swinging movement of the carriage in engaging the key members 17 and 18 with the cutter and cutting guide. The spacing of the bearings 62 and 63 and the length of the pivot shaft 60 are such that the carriage14 will be movable in a `direction away from the wall V31 for a suicient distance to permit the upper arm portion 58 to'move past the outer end ofthe guide support 37 during swinging of the carriage downwardly from its cutting position, shown in full linesV in Fig. 2, to its initial or unloading position represented by the broken line showing 14a. 1 Y

The clamping devices 15 and 16 are substantially identical in construction, and each comprises a generally at lower support jaw 66 formed integral with the carnage 14 and against which the key or key blank is adapted to be clamped by a movable upper clamping jaw 67. The lower jaws 66 are formed on the carriage 14 so as to lie in planes which are disposed in a substantially 45- degree angular relation to each other. The movable clamping jaw 67 is swingably connected with the carriage by .a transverse pivot pin 68. A wing nut 69 provided on a clamping screw 70 is engageable with the movable jaw 67 for a-ctuating'the same into clamping engagement with the key member in opposition to the action of a compression spring 71 disposed around such screw and located between the jaws.

The screw 70 has one end thereof pivotally connected with the carriage 14 by means of a'pivot pin or trunnion member 72 such that the clamping screw and wing nut can accommodate themselves to the different angular positions assumed by the movable jaw 67. A clearance'.

opening 73, provided in the movable jaw and'through which the screw 70 extends, permits thisY self-adjusting swinging movement of the screw. By reason of this pivotal `connection of the clamping screw 70 with the carriage and the provision of the clearance opening 73,

neither the screw nor the movable jaw 67 will be subjected to cramping or bending, and accordingly, the clampingA device will be very easy to actuate and will have a positive/gripping action on the key member.

The clamping devices 15 and 16 also include a transversely extending abutment or reference shoulder 75' formed on the lower jaw 66 and adapted to be engagedv by an edge of the stem portion 76 of the key member for locating the keyV member in the' clamping device. The clamping devices 15 and 16 also include a support lug or projection 77 formed as an integral extension of the lower jawV 66 and providing a relatively wide portion on this jaw which will be atly'engaged by and support the relatively wide body portion 78 ofthe key member when the latter is in its clamped position. This engagement of the relatively wide body portion of the key member with'theV Vbeing held against the side face 57, the clamping nut 69 is tightened. Thereafter, the blank 17 is inserted into` its clamping device 15 and, while the shoulder 79 is beingV held against the'side face 47 Yof the cutter 12,`the clamping nut 69gis tightened.

It is important that the key blank 17 be firmly engaged with the shoulder 75 of the clamping device 15 prior to the tightening of the wing nut 69.Y For this purpose aV yieldable pressure means is provided on the frame structure 11 for pressing the blank 17 against this shoulder when the blank Vis engaged against the cutter and is being clamped in the device 15. This pressure means -is here s shown as comprising a plate Vspring 80 secured to the-frame carriage projection 36 by means of the screws 81 and having an arm 80a which is engageable by the exposed edge of the stem of the key blank, as shown in Fig. 4.

Swinging of the carriage 14 toward the cutter 12 while the key blank 17 is being located in the clamping device will cause the spring arm 89a to engage the key blank and press the same against the shoulder 75, whereupon the wing nut 69 is tightened to lock the blank in the clamping device. The spring 89 thus automatically insures proper alignment of the key blank in the clamping device 1S such that a tilted position, which would result in improper cutting of the key blank, will be avoided.

When the key members have thus been located and secured in proper relation in the clamping devices 15 and 16, the carriage is swung down to its initial position 14a to disengage the key blank 17 from the cutter 12 until the motor 21 can be started by actuation of a suitable control switch S2 provided on the base 19. The carriage 14 is then swung upwardly to its full-line position to thereby engage the key members 17 and 18 with the cutter 12 and the guide 13 respectively for the performance of the cutting or profile duplicating operation on the key blank. During the cutting operation, the irregular prole 18a of the key to be duplicated is moved along the reference edge 56 of the cutting guide 13 by manual shifting of the carriage 14 such that a resulting combined swinging and translatory movement of the carriage will cause the cutter 12 to generate a similar profile on the key blank 17.

The location of the clamping devices 15 and 16 on the carriage 14 is such that the key blank 17 will be supported in the cutting position by the lower jaw 65 with the mid plane of the key blank coinciding substantially with a horizontal plane passing through the rotational axis of the cutter 12 and represented by the line 83. The location of the clamping device 15 is also such that the edge of the stem of the key blank 17 will be presented to the peripheral cutting edge i6 in a substantially normal relation thereto. Similarly, the location of the clamping device 16 on the carriage 14 is such that the key 13 will be supported by the lower jaw 66 so that the stem of this key will be presented edgewise to the reference edge 56 of the cutting guide 13 and in a substantially normal relation to such reference edge.

By having the clamping devices 15 and 16 located so as to support the key members in this relation, the movements imparted to the blank 1'7 during the cutting operation by the swinging of the carriage 14 will be very small movements lying substantially in the horizontal radial plane 83 such that a minimum amount of error will occur in the profile being cut as the result of such swinging movement. The edge of the profile being generated on the blank 17 will thus also extend transversely of the stem at right angles to the general plane of the stem. A more accurately formed key will thus be produced, and when a succession of keys are produced by duplication of one from another, the additive error will still be so small that the iinal key will have substantially the same proiile as the iirst key of the series.

ln accordance with another feature of this invention, the carriage 14 is subjected to a biasing force tending to move the same toward one or the other of the extreme limits of its swinging movement. This biasing force is preferably supplied by a counterweight 85 of a suitable size and shape and which is secured to or formed as a part of the carriage. The provision of the counterweight S5 causes the carriage to have a center of gravity which will move across a vertical neutral axis S6 on an arc located above the pivot shaft 6%, during the transverse swinging movements of the carriage. The neutral axis 86 preferably extends through the axis of the cutter shaft 40 and the axis of the pivot shaft 60 or" the carriage.

During the intermediate portion of the swinging movement of the carriage 14, its center of gravity will be on or near the neutral axis 86, but when the carriage is manually swung in either direction to cause the center of gravity to move away from the neutral axis, the counterweight becomes effective to apply an actuating force to the carriage tending to move the same toward the extreme limit of its swinging movement. Thus, when the key members 17 and 18 have been mounted on the carriage as explained above and the carriage is swung upwardly toward the cutter 12, the counterweight 85 will become effective as the center of gravity moves toward the left across the neutral axis 86 such that the force supplied by the counterweight will assist in holding the key members in engagement with the cutter and cutting guide. Similarly, when the carriage is swung downwardly to its initial position 14a at the completion of the cutting operation, the force supplied by the counterweight 85 will become etiective to assist in moving the carriage to its extreme lower position and will be sufficient to hold the carriage in such lower position until the first set of key members is removed therefrom and until the carriage is again manually swung upwardly preparatory to the mounting of another set of key members thereon. The intermediate position of the carriage 14 in which its center of gravity is located on the axis 86, can be referred to as its neutral or dead-center position.

The electric moto-r 21 is preferably a shaded pole motor, which is a very inexpensive form of motor. Such a shaded pole motor has been found to be a very satisfactory driving means for a key duplicating machine of this kind when sufficient cooling is provided for the motor. En the duplicating machine here shown, the chambers 2S and 25 of the frame members 19 and 20 are in communication through the opening 22a and define a passage for circulating cooling air through the frame structure and across the motor.

The housing of the motor 21 includes an intermediate ring member S7 which has an annular series of axially elongated air ports 51% therein. The ring member 87 has a relatively redtued end portion 89 of a size to be engageable in the end opening 35,9 of the frame member 29. The motor 21 is mounted on the frame 11 by such engagement of the reduced end portion 89 in the end opening 30 and by the retaining screws 9d. When the motor 21 is mounted in this relation, the air ports i communicate with the air circulating passage and form the inlet end thereof. The grill openings 24 of the base 19 form the outlet end of the air circulating passage.

Although the air iniet ports 88 are described above as being in the housing of the motor 21, they could, if desired, be formed in an extension portion 0f the frame member 2d so as to surround the motor when the latter is inserted into the end opening 3i?.

Prior to the mounting of the motor 21 on the frame 11, an air impeller 92 and the drive pinion d3 are mounted on the motor shaft The impeller 92 is here shown as being a fan of the propeller type and of a size to be rotatably operable in the barrel portion 29 of the frame member 29. The motor 21, together with the drive pinion 43 and impeller 92, constitutes a preformed motor unit which is assembled on the frame 11 by inserting one end of such unit through the end opening 3@ to thereby engage the drive pinion with the teeth of the ring gear 41.

When the motor unit has been mounted on the frame structure 11 as above explained, the running of the motor 21 will drive the impeller 92 simultaneously with the operation of the cutter 12 to thereby cause a flow of cooling air to be icircuiated through the frame structure in heat-exchange relation to the motor. The cylindrical barret portion 29 of the frame member 2d forms a surrounding shroud for the impeller 92 such that the impeller will edectively produce a positive flow of the cooling air.

A wire brush 9d mounted on a suitable projection 95 of the motor shaft will be rotated by the motor and will be available for removing burrs from the processed key members when such members are engaged against such rotating brush.

A suitable hood or guard cover 96 is provided for the 7 cutter 12'and partiallyV shields the saine, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The Yguard 96 is swingably mounted onA the frame 'Ymember'rZG by means of a pivot Vscrew 97. A trans- Y parent chip guard 93 is also provided on the clamping device15 so as to be located in front of the cutter 12 during the cuttingl operation.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawingsit will now be readily seen that this invention provides a key duplicating machine of a very simple and compact construction comprising a relatively few number of 'parts which can be economically produced and assembled. The frame members 19 and 2t) are preferably constructed as die-castings which are relatively light in` weight and require a minimum amount of machining. The 'frame member 20 as above described is a one-piece member with the projections 36 and 37 formed as integral parts thereof. With this construction for this frame member, the cutter i2 and the cutting guide 13 will always .have a desired predetermined relation which will not be subject to a variation as would be the case if the projections 156 and 37 were formed asseparate parts to be subsequently assembled.

it will now also be understood that by reason of the above-described construction for the carriage and the.

correspondingly in scope, but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of vthe claims hereof. r

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim:

In a duplicating machine, a base, a .one-piece -frame member connected with said base, a rotatable shaft having a cutter thereon, an electric kmotor including a motor housing, reduction gearing connecting said shaft with said motor to be driven thereby, a guide, a Workholder adapted to receive thereon a key blank to be cut and a key to be duplicated, said workholder being lmovable to engage said blank and key with said cutter and guide respectively, and support projections formed as integral portions of said one-piece frame member and having said shaft and guide mounted thereon, said one-piece frame member forming a casing for said gearing and a hollow motor mount into which at least a portionV or the housing of said motor extends. Y

YReferences Cited in the tile of this patent UNVTED STATES PATENTS 1,105,769 Gussman Aug.,4, 1914 1,895,849V aubroe Jan. 31,V 1933 2,167,008 Shepse July l'25,.'1939 2,176,106 Segal Oct. 17, 1939 2,282,165 Corson May Y5, 1942 Y k2,329,269 .lacobi f Sept. 14,V 1943 2,452,268 Schumann Oct. 26, 1948 2,645,978 Sejarto et al. July 21, 1953 2,682,869 May July 6, 1954 FOREIGN YPATENTS 604,833 Germany Oct. 29, 1934 

